Article container and dispensing device



Oct. 28, 1952 W. C. VAN CLIEF, JR

ARTICLE CONTAINER AND DISPENSING DEVICE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Jan. 31,1950 5, W H N. E V T. 1 M H WW B 6 w Oct. 28, 1952 Fil ed Jan. 31, 1950W. C. VAN CLIEF, JR

ARTICLE CONTAINER AND DISPENSING DEVICE II 3 I 15 mung INVENTOR.

v BY

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' ATTO J pull it forward out from beneath the stack. As the openingmovement progresses, theforward end of the pad, in engagement with theteeth, tends to bend downward around the arc of the quadrants. However,the rigidity of the pad offers suflicient resistance to thisdownwardbending to cause the outer end of the pad to pull away from theteeth. As the door II and quadrants vI2 and I3 continue to rotate, thepad continuesto move outward until the condition shown in Fig. i is iea'ched," The outer end of the pad is now projecting considrablybeyondthe front of the container may be conveniently grasped forremovaliffrom'fthe dispensing'device. Since theteeth 25;. in the openposition of the door ll, point' forward andthe backs of the teeth aresnioothQthey'do not interfere with the removal ofthep'adj. f

As wi1l"be seenby reference to'the drawings, the front sides Sand 6 ofthebox-like sections of the container are cut short enoughat the lowerend to permit the bottom pad to pass forward beneath but o'iiers a lip26, Fig. 1, at a sufiicient height 'abovethe top of the false bottom toprevent any, padlabovethe bottom one from being be sedw th the e Aiterthe pad is removed, thestack moves down upon theqfalse bottom toreplace the removed pad. Spring [9 returns the dispensing door H and theparts operating therewith to their initial position, as in Fig. '2, andthe dispenser is ready to deliver the next pad. 'As the quadrants l2 and13 return from-open position, as in Fig. 4, to the closed'position', asin Fig. 3, the teeth 25-tend to move'the bottom pad-toward the backendof the; contain'enjand would cause a bunching'up of the bottompad,were it not for the projecting tooth orteeth 21. 'These teeth pointforward and grip the pad to counteract the force tending towardrearward'movement. This prevents the lowest pad from being moved backout of reach of the quadrant teeth 25f To prevent the possibility ofinjury to the users finger during operation, by contactwith teeth 25',the quadrants IZ and l3 are cut away, as at 29, and are thereforewithoutte'ethimmediately inside the lip of the door.

It will be noted that the front edges of the sides I and 2 are cut backsomewhat so that the axis of rotation of the dispensing door liessomewhat behind the plane of the front faces 5 and 6 of the dispenserbody. This is done so that the point of tangency (point of contact)between the quadrants and the bottom surface of the bot.- tom pad 2|will be back of the front edge of the pad. This ensures a propergripping contact between pad and dispenser teeth- In the modified form,as shown in Fig. 8, the quadrant members are omitted and the articleejecting means comprises a suitable tray 30v having upstanding sides 3|and 32, spaced apart a distance suflicient to receive therebetween oneof the pads or other articles stored in the'container. This tray isdisposed to slide forwardly and backwardly upon the false bottom wallIII of the container, and is provided with a longitudinal slot 33,through which teeth 21 may project for the purpose of-preventingrearward movement of the bottom article, in relation to the falsebottom. V

4 In Fig. 8 there are shown spaced lugs 34 extending inwardly from thedispensing door ll. Each lug, is pierced as at 35. to receive one of theoutwardlyturned ends- 36 of a wire -niember or link 37 formed in aU-shape and having the base of the U as 38 suitably pivoted, as at 39 tothe tray 30.

The front edge of the bottom of the tray 30 is provided with upwardlyand forwardly projecting teeth, or the like, adapted to engage thebottom pad stored in the container when the tray is moved forwardly bythe opening of the door I l. Thus the bottom pad is ejected to aposition for convenient removal .by the operator of the device; ashappens when the door H of the embodiment shown in Figi'1-,isopened.From the foregoing' de'scription it' will be seen the present inventionprovides a novelstorage and dispensing container which may beeconomically manufactured in any suitable material and which is highly"convenient in use.

1. In combination, a-boxlike container having rectangularly disposedfront and bottom walls, means for supporting a stack' of fiat articlesabove said bottom wall, an opening in said front wall adjacent thebottom thereofia door pivotally' mounted at the bottom of saidopenizigto swing outwardly away from said opening-means cooperative with saiddoor and the lowermost of said stacked articles to seize and eject saidarticle upon an opening movement being imparted to said door, and meanson the upper'surface ofsaid article-supporting means to obstruct andprevent rearward movement of the bottom arti'cle of saidistaclz' whilesaid door is being closed.

2.A device'as in claim l, in which the ejecting means comprises at leastone quadrant member extending inwardly from the inner'surface of saiddoor and, having a'serrated arc uate upper edge for gripping engagementwith said article. 3. A device as in' claim l, in which the'ejectingmeans comprises a plurality of members projecting inwardly from saiddoor, each having a toothed edge for gripping engagement with saidarticle. I

4. A device as in claim 2, in which said arcuate upperedge is centeredon the doorpivot.

5. A device as in claim 4, in whi'chjthe pivot of said door is disposedrearwardl'y ofithe plane of said front wall. v

6. A device as in claim 1, in which said door cooperative meanscomprises a tray or slide member normally disposed beneath the bottomarticle in said stack, and 'means connecting said tray with said door tomove said tray toward said opening, during the opening of said door.

'7. A device. as in claim 6, in which the tray is supported upon thesaid article-supporting means and is slotted to provide for theprojection therethrough ofsaid article obstructing means. v

8. A device as in claim 6, inwhich means is provided at the forward endof said'try to engage said pad for ejection upon forward movement of thetray. j

" WILLIAM C.' VAN 'CLIEF, JR.

REFERENCES CITED 7 The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1

